Psalm 89-91

New American Standard Bible

The Lord’s Covenant with David and Israel’s Afflictions.

A ^[a]Maskil of ^[b]Ethan ^[c]the Ezrahite.

89 I will ^(A)sing of the graciousness of the Lord forever;
To all generations I will ^(B)make Your ^(C)faithfulness known with my mouth.
²For I have said, “^(D)Graciousness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your ^(E)faithfulness.”
³“I have made a covenant with ^(F)My chosen;
I have ^(G)sworn to My servant David,
⁴I will establish your ^[d]^(H)descendants forever
And build up your ^(I)throne to all generations.” Selah

⁵The ^(J)heavens will praise Your wonders, Lord;
Your faithfulness also ^(K)in the assembly of the ^(L)holy ones.
⁶For ^(M)who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the ^[e]^(N)sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
⁷A God ^(O)greatly feared in the council of the ^(P)holy ones,
And ^(Q)awesome above all those who are around Him?
⁸Lord God of armies, ^(R)who is like You, mighty ^[f]Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
⁹You rule the surging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You ^(S)calm them.
¹⁰You Yourself crushed ^[g]^(T)Rahab like one who is slain;
You ^(U)scattered Your enemies with ^[h]Your mighty arm.

¹¹The ^(V)heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The ^(W)world and ^[i]all it contains, You have established them.
¹²The ^(X)north and the south, You have created them;
^(Y)Tabor and ^(Z)Hermon ^(AA)shout for joy at Your name.
¹³You have ^[j]a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your ^(AB)right hand is exalted.
¹⁴^(AC)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
^(AD)Mercy and ^[k]truth go before You.
¹⁵Blessed are the people who know the ^[l]^(AE)joyful sound!
Lord, they walk in the ^(AF)light of Your face.
¹⁶In ^(AG)Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
¹⁷For You are the glory of ^(AH)their strength,
And by Your favor ^[m]our ^(AI)horn is exalted.
¹⁸For our ^(AJ)shield belongs to the Lord,
^[n]And our king to the ^(AK)Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹^[o]Once You spoke in vision to Your godly ^[p]ones,
And said, “I have ^[q]given help to one who is ^(AL)mighty;
I have exalted one ^(AM)chosen from the people.
²⁰I have ^(AN)found My servant David;
With My holy ^(AO)oil I have anointed him,
²¹With whom ^(AP)My hand will be established;
My arm also will ^(AQ)strengthen him.
²²The enemy will not ^[r]deceive him,
Nor will the ^[s]^(AR)son of wickedness afflict him.
²³But I will ^(AS)crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
²⁴My ^(AT)faithfulness and My favor will be with him,
And in My name his ^(AU)horn will be exalted.
²⁵I will also place his hand ^(AV)on the sea,
And his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶He will call to Me, ‘You are ^(AW)my Father,
My God, and the ^(AX)rock of my salvation.’
²⁷I will also make him My ^(AY)firstborn,
The ^(AZ)highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸I will maintain My ^(BA)favor for him forever,
And My ^(BB)covenant shall be confirmed to him.
²⁹So I will establish his ^[t]^(BC)descendants forever,
And his ^(BD)throne ^(BE)as the days of heaven.

³⁰“If his sons ^(BF)abandon My Law
And do not walk in My judgments,
³¹If they ^[u]violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
³²Then I will punish their wrongdoing with the ^(BG)rod,
And their guilt with ^[v]afflictions.
³³But I will not ^[w]withhold ^(BH)My favor from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
³⁴I will not ^[x]violate My ^(BI)covenant,
Nor will I ^(BJ)alter ^[y]the utterance of My lips.
³⁵^[z]Once I have ^(BK)sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
³⁶His ^[aa]^(BL)descendants shall endure forever,
And his ^(BM)throne ^(BN)as the sun before Me.
³⁷It shall be established forever ^(BO)like the moon,
And a ^(BP)witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah

³⁸But You have ^(BQ)rejected and ^(BR)refused,
You have been full of wrath ^[ab]against Your ^(BS)anointed.
³⁹You have ^[ac]^(BT)repudiated the covenant of Your servant;
You have ^(BU)profaned ^(BV)his crown ^[ad]in the dust.
⁴⁰You have ^(BW)broken down all his walls;
You have ^(BX)brought his strongholds to ruin.
⁴¹^(BY)All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a ^(BZ)disgrace to his neighbors.
⁴²You have ^(CA)exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have ^(CB)made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³You also turn back the edge of his sword,
And have ^(CC)not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴You have put an end to his ^[ae]^(CD)splendor
And cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵You have ^(CE)shortened the days of his youth;
You have ^(CF)covered him with shame. Selah

⁴⁶^(CG)How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your ^(CH)wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷^(CI)Remember ^[af]what my lifespan is;
For what ^(CJ)futility ^[ag]You have created all the sons of mankind!
⁴⁸What man can live and not ^(CK)see death?
Can he ^(CL)save his soul from the ^[ah]power of ^[ai]Sheol? Selah

⁴⁹Where are Your former acts of favor, Lord,
Which You ^(CM)swore to David in Your faithfulness?
⁵⁰Remember, Lord, the ^(CN)taunt against Your servants;
^[aj]How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
⁵¹With which ^(CO)Your enemies have taunted, Lord,
With which they have taunted the footsteps of ^(CP)Your anointed.

⁵²^(CQ)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

BOOK 4

God’s Eternity and the Brevity of Human Life.

A Prayer of ^[ak]Moses, the man of God.

90 Lord, You have been our ^[al]^(CR)dwelling place in all generations.
²Before ^(CS)the mountains were born
^[am]Or You ^(CT)gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even ^(CU)from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

³You ^(CV)turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
⁴For ^(CW)a thousand years in Your sight
Are like ^(CX)yesterday when it passes by,
^[an]Or like a ^(CY)watch in the night.
⁵You ^(CZ)have ^[ao]swept them away like a flood, they ^[ap]^(DA)fall asleep;
In the morning they are like ^(DB)grass that ^[aq]sprouts anew.
⁶In the morning it ^(DC)flourishes and ^[ar]sprouts anew;
Toward evening it ^(DD)wilts and ^(DE)withers away.

⁷For we have been ^(DF)consumed by Your anger,
And we have been terrified by Your wrath.
⁸You have ^(DG)placed our guilty deeds before You,
Our ^(DH)hidden sins in the light of Your presence.
⁹For ^(DI)all our days have dwindled away in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a ^[as]sigh.
¹⁰As for the days of our ^[at]life, ^[au]they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, ^(DJ)eighty years,
Yet their pride is only ^(DK)trouble and tragedy;
For it quickly passes, and we ^(DL)disappear.
¹¹Who ^[av]understands the ^(DM)power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the ^(DN)fear ^[aw]that is due You?
¹²So ^(DO)teach us to number our days,
That we may ^[ax]^(DP)present to You a heart of wisdom.

¹³Do ^(DQ)return, Lord; ^(DR)how long will it be?
And ^[ay]be ^(DS)sorry for Your servants.
¹⁴^(DT)Satisfy us in the morning with Your graciousness,
That we may ^(DU)sing for joy and rejoice all our days.
¹⁵^(DV)Make us glad ^[az]according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the ^(DW)years we have seen ^[ba]evil.
¹⁶Let Your ^(DX)work appear to Your servants
And Your ^(DY)majesty ^[bb]to their children.
¹⁷May the ^(DZ)kindness of the Lord our God be upon us;
And ^[bc]^(EA)confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, ^[bd]confirm the work of our hands.

Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.

91 One who dwells in the ^(EB)shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the ^(EC)shadow of the Almighty.
²I will say to the Lord, “My ^(ED)refuge and my ^(EE)fortress,
My God, in whom I ^(EF)trust!”
³For it is He who rescues you from the ^(EG)net of the trapper
And from the deadly ^(EH)plague.
⁴He will ^(EI)cover you with His pinions,
And ^(EJ)under His wings you may take refuge;
His ^(EK)faithfulness is a ^(EL)shield and wall.

⁵You ^(EM)will not be afraid of the ^(EN)terror by night,
Or of the ^(EO)arrow that flies by day;
⁶Of the ^(EP)plague that ^[be]stalks in darkness,
Or of the ^(EQ)destruction that devastates at noon.
⁷A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But ^(ER)it shall not approach you.
⁸You will only look on with your eyes
And ^(ES)see the retaliation against the wicked.
⁹^[bf]For you have made the Lord, ^(ET)my refuge,
The Most High, ^(EU)your dwelling place.
¹⁰^(EV)No evil will happen to you,
Nor will any plague come near your ^[bg]tent.

¹¹For He will give ^(EW)His angels orders concerning you,
To protect you in all your ways.
¹²On their hands they will ^(EX)lift you up,
So that you do not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³You will ^(EY)walk upon the lion and cobra,
You will trample the young lion and the ^[bh]serpent.

¹⁴“^(EZ)Because he has loved Me, I will save him;
I will ^(FA)set him securely on high, because he has ^(FB)known My name.
¹⁵He will ^(FC)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in ^[bi]trouble;
I will rescue him and ^(FD)honor him.
¹⁶I will satisfy him with ^[bj]a ^(FE)long life,
And ^[bk]^(FF)show him My salvation.”

Footnotes

Psalm 89 Title Possibly, Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Psalm 89 Title 1 Kin 4:31
Psalm 89 Title Ps 88: title
Psalm 89:4 Lit seed
Psalm 89:6 Or sons of gods
Psalm 89:8 Heb Yah
Psalm 89:10 I.e., Egypt, as a sea monster; not to be confused with Rahab in Joshua 2
Psalm 89:10 Lit the arm of Your might
Psalm 89:11 Lit its fullness
Psalm 89:13 Lit an arm with strength
Psalm 89:14 Or faithfulness
Psalm 89:15 Or blast of the trumpet, shout of joy
Psalm 89:17 Another reading is You exalt our horn
Psalm 89:18 Or Even to the Holy One of Israel our King
Psalm 89:19 Or At that time
Psalm 89:19 Some mss one
Psalm 89:19 Lit placed help upon
Psalm 89:22 Or exact usury from him
Psalm 89:22 Or wicked man
Psalm 89:29 Lit seed
Psalm 89:31 Lit profane
Psalm 89:32 Or plagues
Psalm 89:33 Lit break
Psalm 89:34 Lit profane
Psalm 89:34 Lit that which goes forth
Psalm 89:35 Or One thing
Psalm 89:36 Lit seed
Psalm 89:38 Lit with
Psalm 89:39 I.e., scornfully rejected
Psalm 89:39 Lit to the ground
Psalm 89:44 Lit clearness, luster
Psalm 89:47 Lit of what duration I am
Psalm 89:47 Or have You...mankind?
Psalm 89:48 Lit hand
Psalm 89:48 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 89:50 Lit My bearing in my chest
Psalm 90 Title Deut 33:1
Psalm 90:1 Or hiding place; some ancient mss place of refuge
Psalm 90:2 Or And
Psalm 90:4 Or And
Psalm 90:5 Or flooded
Psalm 90:5 Lit become asleep
Psalm 90:5 Or passes away
Psalm 90:6 Or passes away
Psalm 90:9 Or whisper
Psalm 90:10 Lit years
Psalm 90:10 Lit in them are
Psalm 90:11 Or knows
Psalm 90:11 Lit of You
Psalm 90:12 Lit bring in
Psalm 90:13 Or repent in regard to
Psalm 90:15 Or as many days as
Psalm 90:15 Or trouble
Psalm 90:16 Or upon
Psalm 90:17 Or give permanence to
Psalm 90:17 Or give permanence to
Psalm 91:6 Or walks
Psalm 91:9 Or For You, O Lord, are my Refuge; You have made the Most High your dwelling place
Psalm 91:10 Or dwelling
Psalm 91:13 Or dragon
Psalm 91:15 Or distress
Psalm 91:16 Lit length of days
Psalm 91:16 Or cause him to feast his eyes on